"Say, Sophia. Are we just going to travel on foot?" I asked. It has been a few hours since we strolled down the mountain and it's already late afternoon. Since we left early in the morning, I expected that we would reach the town below for a good night's rest before continuing tomorrow, but the town seems to be still far off.
Also, walking for a whole day isn't really as fun as I expected it to be. "If you want, we can visit the town and buy horses," Sophia pondered for a moment before answering, "but horses aren't that cheap, to begin with."
"Horses?" I asked. If there were beings like automatons, I expected this world to also have transportation vehicles like trains, and the medieval usage of horses didn't even pop up in my mind. "Although I say horses, they're nothing more than automatons made for transport," Sophia answered with a slightly evil smug on her face as if saying she's a better existence.
Back to the topic, the old man did give us money for our expenses, but since it's my first time handling money in this world, I didn't have a clue how the economy work. Luckily, Sophia seems to know, so I decided that she should be the one to handle our expenses, while I would learn by watching her do so.
"Hmm, I guess camping would be better then," I commented. Traveling excessively to another domain in the continent with unreplenishable money isn't really a smart move. Of course, we're going to need some necessities, but that doesn't mean we should be lavish with it.
Hearing my comment, Sophia spoke up, "We can go rest in the town if you like, but reaching the town on foot would take two days." So she says. When she said the town was close, I obviously didn't get my hopes up, but it seems her definition of close and mine are on different levels.
Luckily, the road was paved in clay bricks and is said to be able to reach every town on the continent. It was around fifteen-meter wide, so I doubt any traffic accidents would occur. However, it does feel lonely that we're the only people walking this long never-ending road.
As if out of fate's irony, at a distance, we spotted a carriage surrounded by guys wearing grey coats. "Sophia, is it what I think it is?" I asked Sophia with a deadpan look on my face. "Unfortunately, I have no idea what it is your thinking," she responded, "but I think the carriage is being robbed."
Of course, it is. Sophia and I came a little closer before hiding in a bush. It wasn't like we didn't want to help, but there were two problems we were currently facing. Firstly, if we helped, we might be mistaken for accomplices because of our similar wears. Secondly, on the door of the carriage, was an emblem of a shield with three swords, and I don't think that whoever's being robbed is a common folk.
"Should we help them?" Sophia asks as she tilted her head. "Let's observe for now," I answered. At that moment, a boy wearing a gallant suit, around early teens of age, hopped out of the carriage. His pink hair fluttered with the wind as he drew his blade from its sheath, seemingly ready to engage in combat.
Though he was outnumbered, it didn't seem like that was a problem for him as he sliced and diced the bandits fiercely, despite their size difference. "He's good with the sword," Sophia commented, "but he's quite not there yet."
Sophia was observing the swordplay of the pink-haired boy, while I was wondering how a child can commit something like that. I get that protecting yourself can be used as an excuse against hostilities. However, for a child to kill without hesitation, not only that, but it seems like he's even enjoying it.
When I was a prince, after my debut to the world, I was able to travel the whole continent for a year, and it was one of the two most memorable memories of my life. The other one is memorable not for good reasons. After all, those memories were of me being a general officer in the war against the other continent.
Although I didn't kill anyone personally, I was responsible for the deaths of many as I was the one who thought of strategies. I did feel guilty about it, but since I still felt hollow inside, I just used the excuse of it being the emperor's orders so I can at least breathe easily.
Snapping back my attention to the boy who finished slaughtering everyone, I noticed a bandit was pretending to be dead while unsheathing a blade from his legs. "Hey! Watch out!" I popped out the bush and alerted the boy, pointing my finger at the approaching bandit.
But it was too late as the bandit cut off the boy's hand that was holding a sword. Blood spilled as his hand flew to the ground, forcing him to distance himself while grinding his teeth, but the bandit followed up by trying to stab the boy's chest.
A rush of mana gathered in my legs as I leaped twenty meters in a blink of an eye, drawing my sword and cutting the bandit's arm off. The bandit screamed in agony as blood profusely burst out of where his arm should be, but the boy didn't spare any moments as he grabbed a blade from the ground and pierced the forehead of the bandit.
Cruel. Too cruel, I thought to myself, but I realized that I just suddenly showed up from nowhere. This means that he might mistake me for an accomplice now. great. However, the blood spilling from where his hand should have been caught my attention.
"Do you ne-.. Are you all right?" Damn it, me. I almost pissed the guy off by asking if he needs a hand. Although I doubt I'd lose if we fought, I don't think unnecessary trouble should be entertained either.
"I'm fine," the boy said. At that moment, the blood dripping from his arm became consistent and the hand, which had fallen a few feet away, came flying back to his arm. the bleeding stopped and the wound disappeared as if it was never there, to begin with.
"Quasi-blood attribute, no wonder his sword style was quite reckless," it wasn't me but Sophia who commented. "I thought we were only going to observe, White?" Sophia whispered the question to my ears. "Yeah, I thought so too."
To be honest, I wasn't expecting myself to dash in either, but since the situation seemed dire, I instinctually did it anyways. Looking at the boy, he seems to be of the noble status, and that itself is already a problem. After all, he might even blackmail us as being in cahoots with the bandits and exploit our power.
If that's the case, the best way to act would be to get out of here as fast as possible. "Okay, goodbye then," I responded softly and did a polite bow before turning our backs and continuing our walk, but a hand that was placed on my shoulder stopped me in my tracks.
"Do you need anything else, my good Sir?" I asked with an innocent smile, turning my head to the boy. of course, I know there needs to be a proper greeting when talking to nobles, but with everything going, it's not like I can just greet him as if I didn't know what had just transpired.
"You," the boy looked at me curiously, "you're pretty skilled for a kid!" His expression lightened up as he smiled energetically. Is this guy serious? I thought to myself, but I just let out a dry laugh as I stepped backward.
"Now, now. I should thank you for saving me, right? How about a meal?" Wow. For someone who had a psychopathic smile while slaughtering the bandits earlier, he now acts like a doting older brother. Scary, too scary.
I swallowed my thoughts as I composed myself, "You're too kind, my good noble. However, we are on a tight schedule, so we cannot simply accompany you either. Please forgive us." placing a hand on my chest, I bowed slightly in apology.
I said it before, and I'll say it again, I don't want to concern myself with nobility as I'm sick and tired of it. If slightly offending this guy would mean so, then a small grudge shouldn't be a problem, since I doubt I'd see him again in my travels.
But contrary to my expectations, the boy just laughed it off and spoke up once again, "If that's the case, then we can hitch you a ride." He then opened the door of the carriage, revealing a pink-haired girl, around the boy's age, having tea.
"Is that okay with you, Sitri?" The boy asked the girl named Sitri. "I don't mind, but they haven't introduced themselves yet." Well, I wasn't planning to since I was planning to leave anyway, but since the sky is already darkening, I figured hitching a ride and camping with others would be better than just me and Sophia.
With a hand on my chest, I apologized, "Forgive me for my impertinence. My name is White Lucklastrey, and this here is my sister, Sophia." The reason why I said she's my sister is so that we can avoid any future business if they took interest in her.
After all, a noble is still a noble.